Botched macaroni and cheese?!
Botched macaroni and cheese?
So I made some. All that was in the sauce was heavy cream, a little milk, and low-fat cheese. After I baked it for a little while, the texture became eggy-like. Why did this happen and how do I prevent it?
Answers:
Interesting choice of ingredients with cream and low fat cheese! Next time use real cheeses and 1/2 & 1/2.
AND flour - THAT'S probably the reason you made an MacOmelet!
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i never have good results when cooking with low fat cheese, maybe thats your problem?
Low fat cheese. Homemade mac and cheese is much better with regular cheese. I'm a fat fireman, I know my food! LOL
Low fat cheeses have a much higher protein level than regular cheeses. When they are melted into the sauce they are ok, but then as they are cooked the proteins coagulate and get really tough. Try using half-and-half to instead of cream to offset the fat in the cheese, and use regular cheese.
Well for one thing don't use that heavy cream. I use to work in a lunchroom at the school and made tons of the stuff. Cook your mac, drain, alternate your mac with butter or marg .. layer that with cheese slices over and over then lastly pour any kind of milk till you see it in the casserole dish not too much. Bake till its the consistency without it being to runny.
I never use lowfat cheese for that exact reason....besides it tastes much better with regular good old fashioned cheese!!!
You didn't start out with a good Béchamel Sauce ... this is basically butter and flour and milk, but the protein and starch in the flower allows the cheese to maintain their texture plus be, for lack of a technical term, gooey.
You want to start with butter that you brown slightly, then then a few tea spoons of plain white flour. This will mix into a little bit of a paste, and when the butter and the flour have bonded together, add the milk and cream which has been brought up to temperature near the same temperature of your roux (the butter and flour). Whisk the mixture until smooth, at which point you can add your cheese a hand ful at a time, still whisking, to get your sauce good and smooth.
Then just mix your pasta with this, and bake it for about 40 minutes.
Low Fat Cheese is what happened. It doesn't melt correctly. You need to use the good stuff and just throw out the diet for a night if you are making something like this.
If your gonna go...go all the way.